Activities of the President of the Parliamentary Assembly between the third and the fourth part of the 2016 Ordinary session

1. Visits
and meetings

1.1. Activities of
the President between 16 June and 31 August 2016

1.1.1. Counteracting
terrorism

Unfortunately, terrorism is becoming a reality of our daily
life and, during this period, we have seen several deadly terrorist
attacks striking a number of our member States, in particular, France
and Turkey.

The heinous terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Nice, Rouen and,
most recently, in Gaziantep are attacks on Europe, the values that
unite us, our symbols and our way of life. I strongly condemned
these attacks in public statements, on twitter and in letters to
the authorities, expressing support and solidarity with our member
States and the families of victims and those affected.

I called on the authorities, the political leadership as well
as ordinary people to stay strong and united around the values that
form the foundations of our societies – democracy, human rights,
tolerance and respect, so as to oppose the fear, hate and division
that the terrorists want to instil. This idea is at the heart of
our new initiative – #NoHateNoFear / #NiHaineNiPeur – and I am grateful
to all members of the Assembly who continue to support it.

As our institutions and political systems have to face numerous
challenges, including terrorism, inter-ethnic tensions and stigmatisation
of certain religious groups, growing populist, intolerant and radical
rhetoric, I am convinced that politicians have a special duty to
reassure our citizens and to protect our societies. We have to remind
our voters of the historical challenges we have faced, our values
and the common interests that unite us, as well as our achievements,
including the most important one – the creation of a common Pan-European legal
space based on the standards of the European Convention of Human
Rights.

Our common interests and achievements are stronger than the
divisions and hate that terrorists seek to create. We have to continue
to spread this message among our voters, with renewed vigour and
determination, and the #NoHateNoFear initiative is a powerful tool
at our disposal.

1.1.2. The attempted
coup d’Etat in Turkey and subsequent developments

My first reaction to the coup d’Etat attempt in Turkey was
to condemn the violence and express support to Turkey, its democratic
institutions and the authorities. Any attempt to change democratically-elected government
by violence is unacceptable and I was greatly encouraged by the
unity shown by the people of Turkey and Turkey’s democratic political
forces across the board in the face of the attempted coup d’Etat.

The failure of the coup was clearly a victory of democracy.
The people of Turkey made a resolute choice in favour of democracy.
We must now provide them with the necessary support to help Turkey
strengthen its democratic institutions even further and immunise
them against any temptations to change the political course by violence.

Therefore, it is now very important to identify facts and
to bring to justice those responsible, so as to protect the democratic
institutions. This has to be done in full compliance with domestic
legal procedures and the Council of Europe standards which establish
basic guarantees of fundamental rights and freedoms that Turkey
has committed itself to respect. In this context, in my statements
as well as in telephone conversations with Turkey’s Minister of
Foreign Affairs and the members of the Turkish Delegation to the
Assembly, I offered the Council of Europe’s assistance and support.
At the same time, referring to the swift dismissal and arrest of thousands
of judges, prosecutors, police officers and senior civil servants,
I stressed the need to follow strictly domestic legal procedures
and Council of Europe standards, in particular, the provisions of
the European Convention on Human Rights and the case-law of the
Court. I emphasized the need to put emotions aside and refrain from
hasty statements, in particular, regarding the possibility of re-establishing
death penalty. This would go against the country’s international
commitments – as a member State of the Council of Europe, Turkey
has signed and ratified Protocol No. 6 of the European Convention
on Human Rights, and its Protocol No. 13 banning the death penalty
in all circumstances. I understand that the authorities are fully
aware of this.

During the telephone conversation with Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu
we agreed on two key elements:

Firstly,
I would come to Turkey before the Assembly’s Bureau meeting of 5
September 2016, to study the situation, obtain first-hand information
about the coup attempt, its consequences, as well as the authorities’
and the political stakeholders’ response to it, so as to inform
the Presidential Committee and the Bureau of the Assembly accordingly;

Secondly, we would study together the possibility for
Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu to participate in the Assembly’s October
part-session, so as to inform the Assembly of key political developments
and answer questions from members.

In this context, I have accepted the invitation of the Speaker
of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to the solidarity event
to be held in Ankara, on 1 September 2016. In the margins of this
event, I hope to meet with the President, the Prime Minister, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, leaders of the main political groups
and also have contacts with civil society.

1.1.3. Official visit
to Georgia (Tbilisi, 30 June – 2 July 2016)

At the invitation of the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia,
I travelled to Tbilisi from 30 June to July 2016. During the visit,
I met with the President of the Republic Giorgi Margvelashvili,
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mikheil Janelidze, and the Speaker of Parliament David Usupashvili,
as well as members of the delegation of Georgia to the Assembly.
I would like to thank the Georgian authorities for the excellent
organisation of my visit.

At the end of the visit, I commended Georgia’s European aspirations
and commitment to Council of Europe values. I stressed that during
17 years of membership in the Council of Europe, Georgia made considerable progress
in terms of democratic reforms and strengthening State institutions.
The recently launched Action Plan 2016-2019 provides the necessary
means to continue this positive dynamic and reach the reform objectives.

The preparations to the forthcoming parliamentary elections
were at the heart of my discussions with the authorities and the
political stakeholders. I raised with my interlocutors the recent
reports of violent attacks against political activists. All acts
of violence should be firmly condemned and fully investigated. All
parties should refrain from provocative acts which could lead to
further tension. I was reassured by the authorities that they would
devote even greater energy to adopt and implement measures aimed
at preventing further violence in order to deliver to Georgian citizens
the fair, democratic and peaceful environment they deserve.

In discussing the forthcoming elections, I also raised the
issue of electoral reform. While welcoming some progress achieved
in particular with regard to the redrawing of electoral districts,
I noted that the majority and the opposition had not been able to
agree on a new electoral system in time for the October elections.
I stressed that the new Parliament would have an important mission
to find a common agreement on the new system before the 2020 elections.

Trials against former officials, as well as the recent judgement
of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Merabishvili v. Georgia were also
discussed. I made it clear to my interlocutors that there should
be no impunity for offences of corruption and human rights violations.
However, investigations and trials should be conducted in a transparent,
efficient and independent manner, from the outset to the completion.
The recent judgment of the Court highlighted some issues of concern
and I encouraged the authorities to address them effectively and
to carry out appropriate investigations.

1.1.4. Relations with
the Russian Parliament

On 29-30 June 2016, I travelled to Moscow, in particular,
to participate in the Plenary Session of the General Assembly of
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation
and hold bilateral meetings with the leadership of the State Duma
and of the Federation Council. During this visit, I met the Speaker
of the Russian State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin, the Speaker of Russia's
Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, the Chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the State Duma, Alexey Pushkov, and with the
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council,
Konstantin Kosachev.

My discussions followed up to the declaration adopted, on
24 June 2016, by the Bureau of the Assembly which stressed that
the Assembly “should find ways to keep open the communication channels
with the Russian parliament and explore all possibilities for dialogue
offered by parliamentary diplomacy” because “the fact that, for
two consecutive years, parliamentarians from one of the Organisation’s
member States, the Russian Federation, have not participated in
the Assembly’s work limits the capacity of the Assembly to represent
the rich plurality of views from across Europe.” Therefore, the
aim of my discussions was to identify channels of communication
with the Russian parliamentarians. My discussions were constructive
and fruitful. We have agreed on two concrete initiatives to continue
political dialogue:

Firstly,
the Speaker of the State Duma invited me accompanied by the leaders
of the Assembly’s political groups to come to Moscow for a meeting
with the leadership of the State Duma. This visit took place on 6-7
September 2016.

Secondly, the Speaker of the Federation Council accepted
my proposal to meet with the Presidential Committee of the Assembly
on 14 September 2016, in the margins of the European Conference
of Speakers of Parliament.

1.1.5. Official visit
to the Czech Republic and participation in the selection panel for
the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize (Prague, 30-31 August 2016)

On the 30 and 31 of August I conducted an official visit to
the Czech Republic, where I met with the President of the Chamber
of Deputies, Mr Jan Hamáček, the Vice-President of the Senate, Mr Přemysl
Sobotka, the Prime Minister, Mr Bohuslav Sobotka and the State Secretary
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Petr Gajdušek.

On 30 August, I took part in the selection panel for the award
of the 2016 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.

I was able to provide an oral account of both my official
visit and the outcome of the shortlisting of three candidates for
the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, during the Bureau meeting on
5 September 2016.

1.1.6. Other activities

1.1.6.1. Participation
in the Plenary Session of the General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (Moscow, 29 June 2016)

Addressing the Plenary Session of PABSEC General Assembly,
I called on partner parliamentary assemblies to respond jointly
to the common challenges we are facing, in particular the refugee
crisis and combating international terrorism. I presented the #NoHateNoFear
initiative and invited PABSEC colleagues to join in.

1.1.6.2. Participation
in the 25th Annual Session of the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly (Tbilisi, 1 July 2016)

In my address, I stressed that parliamentary diplomacy is
a key to solving complex problems such as international terrorism,
the refugees and migrants crisis, ‘frozen’ and ‘burning’ conflicts
and institutional crisis. I emphasised that, thanks to their membership
and political leverage, our Assembly and OSCE PA had the duty to
prevent new divisions in Europe and that parliamentary dialogue
and diplomacy were the right tools to achieve this. Furthermore,
I praised the excellent co-operation between our Assembly, OSCE
PA and OSCE ODIHR in the field of election observation.

1.1.6.3. Participation
in the Award Ceremony of the 2016 Europe Prize to Girona (Girona,
Spain, 8 July 2016)

I attended this Ceremony together with the Chairperson of
the Sub-Committee on the Europe Prize, Mr Jean-Claude Frécon. During
the official Ceremony, we presented the Europe Prize to the Mayor
of Girona, Ms Marta Madrenas.

1.1.6.4. Participation
in the 2016 Council of Europe Youth Camp (Strasbourg, 12 July 2016)

This year, the youth camp focused on the refugee problematic
and I presented the Assembly’s activities to the participants. Our
subsequent exchange of views was rich and lively.

1.2. Activities of
the President between 1st September and
7 October 2016

1.2.1. Visit to Turkey
and participation in the Meeting of Presidents of International
Parliamentary Assemblies (Ankara, 1-2 September 2016)

The aim of my visit was to show solidarity with Turkey, its
Parliament, its Government and its people in the aftermath of the
unacceptable attempted coup d’Etat.

At the meeting organised by the President of the Grand National
Assembly, I made it clear that Turkey could count on the support
of the Council of Europe and its Assembly in the aftermath of the
coup. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss with Turkish colleagues
the attack by the coup plotters on Turkey’s democracy and see first-hand
the bomb damage to the Grand National Assembly. This attack was
shocking and it will take time for the country to come to terms
with what happened, clarify the facts, bring to justice those responsible
and ensure that such an attempt is not repeated. The follow up investigations
and legal procedures will however need to comply with the Constitution,
laws and domestic regulations, as underpinned by the European Convention
on Human Rights and other Council of Europe standards, and the Council
of Europe is ready to help.

During my visit, and in the margins of the meeting at the
Grand National Assembly, I was received at the highest levels of
State and Government and could also discuss with leaders of the
main political groups, NGOs and journalists. From the President,
the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly, the Prime Minister and
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the message I received was clear
and simple, “please show solidarity with what the people of Turkey
have lived through and understand the need to remove the deeply
embedded threat posed by those behind the coup attempt.” With my
counterparts I was able to discuss openly and frankly concerns about
some of the steps taken to deal with the aftermath of the coup.
These included allegations of ill treatment, the emergency decrees
and the number of people detained or dismissed from their work,
and in this context, I asked for updated data on steps taken. I
received assurances from the authorities that they were sensitive
to these issues raised. I invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs
to address the October part-Session in Strasbourg, and I was delighted
that he agreed immediately to this.

In my meetings with the leaders of two of the political opposition
groups, there was a clear message of unity in the immediate response
to the coup d’Etat. There were however democratic concerns that
all criminal investigations, prosecutions and trials should be carried
out with an independent judiciary, respecting the rule of law and
international human rights norms.

Turkey has more than its fair share of challenges, and needs
more than its fair share of support from Europe. Not only does it
have to deal with the aftermath of the coup, but it has to deal
with around 3 million refugees and an increasing number of deadly
terrorist attacks. Therefore, we have to work more with Turkey to
help the country provide a democratic response to all these challenges.

During this visit, I met with Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ismail Kahraman,
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, as well as Foreign Minister Mevlüt
Çavusoglu. I also exchanged views with leaders of different political
groups, including Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, Chairman of the Republican
People’s Party (CHP) and Figen Yüksekdag, Co-Chair of the People’s
Democratic Party (HDP). Furthermore, I held talks with representatives
of several NGOs: Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Association
of Journalists, and the International Human Rights Platform.

1.2.2. Relations with
the Russian Parliament: working visit to Russia (Moscow, 6-7 September
2016) and meeting between the Presidential Committee of the Assembly
and the Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly
of the Russian Federation (Strasbourg, 14 September 2016)

At the invitation of the Speaker of the State Duma, Mr Sergey
Naryshkin, I travelled to Moscow on 6­7 September 2016, together
with an Assembly delegation bringing together the leaders or representatives
of the Assembly’s five political groups. We held meetings with the
Speaker of the State Duma and the representatives of all political
groups in the Russian Parliament, in particular, Mr Alexey Pushkov,
Chairman of the State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, representing
the “United Russia” political group, Mr Ivan Melnikov, First Deputy
Speaker of the State Duma, representing the Group of the “Communist
Party”, Mr Leonid Slutskiy, Chairman of the State Duma Committee
on the Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States, representing
the Group of the “Liberal-Democratic Party”, Mr Alexander Romanovich,
Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, representing the Group of the
“Fair Russia” Party, as well as Mr Alexander Alexandrov and Mr Vladimir
Dzhabarov, members of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly
of the Russian Federation.

On 14 September 2016, the Presidential Committee of the Assembly
held a meeting with Ms Valentina Matvienko, Speaker of the Federation
Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, who came to
Strasbourg to participate in the European Conference of Presidents
of Parliament. Ms Matvienko was accompanied by Mr Konstantin Kosachev,
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation Council,
and Mr Ilyas Umakhanov, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council.

The aim of these contacts was to follow-up on my discussions
with the leadership of the State Duma and of the Federation Council,
in St Petersburg in Moscow, respectively in May and June 2016.

As far as the relations between the Assembly and the Russian
Parliament are concerned, I welcomed the interest of Speakers of
both Chambers and of Russian parliamentarians to engage in dialogue
with the Assembly and co-operate with the Council of Europe. In
my opinion, the non-participation of Russian parliamentarians in
the work of the Assembly benefits neither Russia nor the Assembly.
This position was confirmed by the Bureau of the Assembly in the
Declaration on “Reaffirming the role of the Assembly as a pan-European
forum for inter-parliamentary dialogue and co-operation”.

From my discussions, I could see that the Russian parliamentarians
attach a great importance to ensuring that the Assembly fulfils
its role of pan-European political forum for all 47 member States
of the Organisation. We have to work together to achieve this, and
I look forward to the continuation of our discussions so as to make progress
together.

I have also taken note of the ideas and proposals expressed
by Russian parliamentarians regarding possible ways to enhance the
functioning of the Assembly as regards, in particular the monitoring
procedure and the participation of members in the voting on our
texts. I believe that these are serious issues which require a serious
examination among all 47 delegations; not 46. Therefore, I expressed
hope that we would soon be able to discuss these issues together,
among the members of the Assembly coming from all 47 member States
of the Organisation.

1.2.3. Symposium: “The
defence of human rights in Europe, an outdated idea? The Council
of Europe, more necessary than ever” (Paris, 12 September 2016)

At the invitation of the Chairman of the French delegation
to the Assembly, Mr René Rouquet, I attended, on 12 September 2016,
the symposium on “The defence of human rights in Europe, an outdated
idea? The Council of Europe, more necessary than ever”. It was an
honour for me to open this symposium together with the Speaker of
the National Assembly, Mr Claude Bartolone.

In my address to the Conference, I pointed to the unprecedented
crises faced by Europe: terrorist attacks, war at its frontiers,
frozen conflicts, the refugee and migrant crisis and the rise of
extremism.

In the face of these challenges, the Council of Europe is
needed now more than ever to find appropriate responses and play
its role in human rights protection. I praised the added value of
the Council of Europe’s co-operation tools and conventional mechanisms,
as well as the Organisation’s role as a forum for political dialogue
between national, regional and local elected representatives.

Speaking about the political means of giving fresh impetus
to the Council of Europe, I called in particular for the strengthening
of the bridges between the Organisation, national agencies and citizens
and the consolidation of synergies with the other regional and international
organisations. In this context, I expressed support for the idea
of organising a fourth Summit of Council of Europe Heads of State
and Government to defend democratic security in Europe.

1.2.4. European Conference
of Presidents of Parliament (Strasbourg, 15-16 September 2016)

This Conference was a major success, in terms of attendance
and quality of discussions. It brought together more than 50 Speakers
of Parliament – as well as the heads of several international parliamentary
assemblies – to discuss how parliaments should respond to the migration
and refugee crisis, promote democratic and human rights values,
and combat hate speech, racism and intolerance.

Setting out the conclusions at the end of the conference,
I acknowledged the magnitude of challenges such as terrorism, the
migration and asylum crisis and the economic downturn while warning
against insularity and unilateralism, which could jeopardise what
has been achieved so far in the area of democracy, human rights and
the rule of law.

I called on parliamentarians to support the organisation of
a fourth summit of Council of Europe Heads of State and Government,
to give “fresh impetus” to the Organisation’s work and its co-operation
with member States.

The participants in the Conference put forward a number of
proposals to boost parliamentary involvement in dealing with flows
of migrants and refugees, as well as tackling the growing phenomenon
of hate-speech in politics and society. I trust that these proposals
will provide a lot of food for thought and for action for the national
parliaments of all our member States.

In the margins of the Conference, I held 25 bilateral meetings
with the Speakers of the Parliaments of our member States. I greatly
appreciated their commitment to the Council of Europe and their
support of the Assembly’s work. The details of my meetings can be
found in the appendix to this communication.

1.2.5. Official visit
to Iceland and participation in the meeting of the Committee on
Political Affairs and Democracy (Reykjavik, 26-27 September 2016)

On 26 September I participated in the meeting of the Committee
on Political Affairs and Democracy in Reykjavik to brief members
on my visit to Turkey on 1-2 September and to take part in a hearing
on the intitiative Terrorism: #NoHateNoFear with an Utøya survivor,
Mr Bjorn Ihler, academic, activist, writer and filmmaker.

I extended my visit to the 27 September to be able to have
meetings with the President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, the
Minister for Finance Bjarni Benediktsson, the Minister of Foreign
Affairs Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, and the Speaker of Parliament
Einar K. Guðfinnsson, as well as members of the delegation of Iceland
to the Assembly and representatives of the Foreign Affairs Committee
of the Althingi.

In my meetings I praised the Icelandic authorities for the
extent of their fulfilment of Council of Europe standards but noted
that there are still some Council of Europe conventions that Iceland
could benefit from ratifying, including the Convention on Preventing
and Combating Violence Against Women, the Revised European Social
Charter and the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter
Providing for a System of Collective Complaints. I encouraged the
Icelandic authorities to examine the progress of ratification of
these and other important instruments.

During my official meetings I was also able to discuss a range
of political issues including the migration and refugee crisis,
the threat of terrorism and the rise of extremism and populist rhetoric.

To mark the 2nd European Day on the protection of children
against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, I visited the Barnahus, a ‘best practice’ centre
dealing with children who may have been victims of sexual abuse, and
was impressed by the integrated work they do in order to help these
children, and by the child-friendly environment I found there.

1.2.6. Official visit
to Serbia (Belgrade, 3-5 October 2016)

At the invitation of the Speaker of the National Assembly
of Serbia, Ms Maja Gojković, I paid an official visit to Belgrade
on 3-5 October 2016. During the visit, I met Mr Tomislav Nikolić,
President of Serbia, Mr Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister of Serbia,
Mr Ivica Dačić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ms Maja Gojković, Speaker of the National Assembly, as well as the
members of the Serbian delegation to the Assembly. Moreover, I was
honoured to address the National Assembly of Serbia, meeting in
a special session.

My discussions focused on the situation in the South-East
Europe region, the Council of Europe’s response to the Pan-European
challenges, in particular, terrorism, the refugee crisis and the
raise of populist movement, as well as the co-operation between
Serbia and the Council of Europe.

At the end of my visit, I encouraged Serbia – as well as all
States of the region – to strengthen regional co-operation and pursue
reconciliation efforts. Today, South-East Europe needs stability
and co-operation as never before. Peace, good neighbourly relations
and reconciliation are pre-conditions for the region’s economic development,
social stability and the advancement on the path of European integration
which is the strategic objective of all States of the region. In
this context, I commended the efforts of the Serbian authorities
to develop good neighbourly relations with the countries of the
region and assured Serbia – as well as the authorities of other
countries of the region – of the Assembly’s support.

As far as the raise of populist movements is concerned, I
stressed that in times of uncertainty, economic downturn, and geopolitical
challenges, it is important for all democratic forces to resolutely
oppose populist, nationalist and extreme movements which capitalize
on citizens’ concerns and fears. This is especially important as
we are facing such complex challenges as the refugee crisis and
migration management as well as the threat of international terrorism.

Turning to the refugee crisis, I commended Serbia’s efforts
and constructive approach. The authorities are doing their utmost
to ensure that the refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants can cross
the country in the best possible conditions. Recently, we have seen
the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers wishing to stay in Serbia
increase. Managing this new situation is a challenge, especially
as winter is approaching. In this context, I stressed that we need
a comprehensive and pan-European approach to the refugee crisis
and the migration phenomenon, based on fair responsibility sharing
and solidarity. I believe the Assembly can provide a platform for
launching a debate about this issue, so as to propose concrete elements
of solution to our member States.

Speaking about the co-operation between the Council of Europe
and Serbia, I encouraged the authorities to make full use of the
Council of Europe expertise in the field of the judiciary reform,
media, constitutional matters, fight against corruption and protection
of minority rights, in the implementation of ongoing reforms.

I encouraged the authorities to use fully the opportunities
offered by new joint programme “European Union – Council of Europe
Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey (HF) 2016-2018”.
Our co-operation programmes can help Serbia benefit from the best
of European expertise to move forward the EU integration agenda.

Finally, I thanked the Serbian authorities for their support,
at the highest political level, as well as the members of Serbia’s
National Assembly, to the Assembly’s initiative #NoHateNoFear. I
encouraged Serbian MPs to promote this initiative further in Serbia
as well as in the region.

1.2.7. Other activities

1.2.7.1. Participation
in the meeting of the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee (Paris, 6 September
2016).

On 6 September 2016, I participated in the meeting of the
Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights to brief the members
of the Committee on my visit to Turkey on 1-2 September and my bilateral
meetings with the Turkish authorities.

1.2.7.2. Visit to the
Council of Europe of His Holiness the Dalai Lama

It was an honour for me to receive in my office His Holiness
the Dalai Lama. During our meeting, I praised the Dalai Lama’s commitment
to promoting peace and the values of humanity at a global level.
Furthermore, I presented to the Dalai Lama the Assembly’s initiative
#NoHateNoFear.

I am extremely pleased by the fact that His Holiness the Dalai
Lama expressed support for the #NoHateNoFear initiative. This is
a powerful message of support for the Assembly’s and the Council
of Europe’s action to counteract terrorism and the hate and fear
that it seeks to create.

I was invited to participate in a conference organised by
the Spanish think-tank “Club Siglo XXI” on “Integration or Disintegration?:
Europe at the Crossroads”. It was my first opportunity, since being
elected President of the Assembly, to address, in a public setting,
the diplomatic community in Spain and representatives of the Parliament.

During the conference, I stressed the necessity to revise
the architecture of European integration as the current model has
exhausted its potential on many fronts. The role of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe – I pointed out – is more necessary
than ever as we are a multilateral platform where European States can
debate on the challenges for the years to come.

I also underlined that our common enemy should not be ourselves
but the “instigators of fear”, namely the actors of global terrorism
and the populists who are trying to manipulate the life of every
European citizen. I explained that we cannot respond to all the
challenges we are facing by selecting two or three options in one or
other referendum, because there are no simple answers in a complex
world.

2. Press releases

President: “Stand up
and show support for refugees” (19 June 2016)

“Greece needs our full support” (20 June 2016)

PACE must continue to foster pan-European dialogue in
response to challenges, says the President (20 June 2016)

Terrorism: #NoHateNoFear, a PACE initiative (20 June 2016)

26 June: International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking (24 June 2016)

Brexit: “something of the European ideal has been lost
today” (24 June 2016)

Pedro Agramunt: PACE and PABSEC share similar objectives
and common standards (29 June 2016)

Mr Albert Frick, President of the Parliament of the Principality
of Liechtenstein and members of the parliamentary delegation of
Liechtenstein

Mr Taavi Roivas, Prime Minister of Estonia

Mr Alexis Tsipras, Prime Minister of Greece

Mr Janusz Stanczyk, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Poland to the Council of Europe, and
Mr Ferenc Robák, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent
Representative of Hungary to the Council of Europe

Ms Aliza Lavie, Chairperson, delegation of Israel

Delegation of the Parliament of Egypt

Mr Karl Gardarsson, Chairperson, delegation of Iceland

Mr Jean-Claude Frécon, President, Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Ms Manana Kobakhidze, member, delegation of Georgia

Mr Jasen Mesić, Chairperson, delegation of Croatia

Ms Hermine Naghdalyan, Chairperson, delegation of Armenia

Mr Samad Seyidov, Chairperson, delegation of Azerbaijan

Mr Predrag Sekulić, Chairperson, delegation of Montenegro

Mr Nikolai Samoseyko, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the Parliament of Belarus

Ms Gulnara Akhundova, representative of International
Media Support, and other representatives of Azeri NGOs

Delegation from the Parliamentary Committee on human rights
and external relations, Parliament of Tunisia

Ms Dana Váhalová, Chairperson, delegation of the Czech
Republic

4.2. 47th Plenary
session of the General Assembly of the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (PABSEC) General Assembly (Moscow,
28-30 June 2016)

Mr Alexey Pushkov, Chairman
of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma

Mr Sergey Naryshkin, Speaker of the State Duma of the
Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, President of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation

Mr Konstantin Kosachev, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the
Russian Federation

Ms Valentina Matvienko, Speaker of the Federation Council
of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

4.3. Official visit
to Tbilisi, Georgia and 25th Annual session of the OSCE PA (Tbilisi,
30 June to 2 July 2016)

Mr Giorgi Kvirikashvili,
Prime-Minister of Georgia

Mr Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Georgia

Mr Ilkka Kanerva, President of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly

Mr David Usupashvili, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia

Mr Mikheil Janelidze, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

Mr Konstantin Korkelia, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council of Europe

Mr Christian Urse, Head of the Office of the Council of
Europe in Georgia

4.4. Official presentation
ceremony of the Europe Prize 2016 to the city of Girona (Spain)
(Girona, 8 July 2016)

Ms Marta Madrenas, Mayoress
of Girona

Mr Raül Romeva, Councilor for External affairs, institutional
relations and transparency of the Region of Catalonia

Mr Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov, Minister-Counsellor of the
Embassy of Russia in Spain

Mr Zurab Pololikashvili, Georgian Ambassador in Spain

Mr Jesus Posada, Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee
of the Congress of Deputies

4.13. Meeting of the
Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy and official visit
to Iceland (Reykjavik, 26-27 September 2016)

Mr Bjarni Benediktsson,
Minister for Finance

Mr Einard K. Gudfinnsson, Speaker of Althingi, Parliament
of Iceland

Ms Lilja Dögg Alfreðsdóttir, Foreign Minister of Iceland

Mr Guöni Th. Johannesson, President of Iceland

Members of the Icelandic delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly

Representatives of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
Althingi

4.14. Official visit
to Serbia (Belgrade, 3-5 October 2016)

Mr Tomislav Nikolić,
President of Serbia

Mr Aleksandar Vučić, Prime Minister of Serbia

Mr Ivica Dačić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Foreign Affairs

Ms Maja Gojković, Speaker of the National Assembly

Members of the Serbian delegation to the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe

Appendix – European Conference of Presidents
of Parliament (Strasbourg, 15-16 September 2016)

(open)

Conclusions by Pedro Agramunt, President
of the Parliamentary Assembly

Dear Presidents, colleagues,

As host of this year’s European Conference of Presidents of
Parliament, I have the honour and the responsibility to present
you with my conclusions on these two days.

I would like to start by thanking all of you for your active
participation and contribution. The quality of the debates in this
hemicycle and the high number of bilateral and other meetings confirms
the growing importance of inter-parliamentary dialogue and the increasing
awareness of the role that parliamentary diplomacy can play in the
context of international relations. Our regular meetings make it
possible to build bridges and channels of communication which help
us exchange experiences and identify common solutions, in the interests
of our citizens.

My special thanks and gratitude go to the key-note speakers
of each of the three themes of the Conference. Their interventions
served as guidance and food for thought for the debates that followed.

In my opening speech, I recalled some defining dates that
have marked our troubled times and changed our perception of the
world in which we live.

In my conclusions, I would like to mention some ‘defining
quotes’ that we heard during our debates, which have set the tone
of the Conference. YOUR statements have captured, in a few words
and with powerful images, the fundamental questions that we MUST
address.

To start with Theme 1 – Migration and refugee crisis in Europe
– role and responsibilities of parliaments, a question that particularly
struck me was: “Do we really walk our walk?”

Indeed, as regards migration and asylum, our legal obligations
are clearly defined and we know our moral responsibilities. We also
agree that solidarity and responsibility-sharing are necessary and
that a unilateral response to migration and asylum – which is a
global, unstoppable phenomenon – is bound to be inadequate and short-lived.

However, we must be self-critical and recognise that the political
will to walk our walk has been lacking. In fact, the current crisis
is not the arrival of 1 million migrants and refugees to EU member
States last year – a tiny percentage of the continent’s population
– but Europe’s failure to provide an adequate, commonly-agreed response
to a flow that had been predicted. This also has to be taken in
the context of 3 million refugees, mainly from Syria, in Turkey
today.

The debate clearly highlighted the existence of different
approaches on how to tackle the present crisis, and a different
understanding of its depth and impact on the European project. The
debate also confirmed, however, that national parliaments should
redouble their efforts to develop a constructive dialogue on this
matter, with a view to achieving a common position.

Dear colleagues, on the basis of our discussions I have identified
a few recommendations that could inspire our future activities.

National parliaments should ensure that migration and asylum
measures are not geared towards the short term but are embedded
in a long term overall revision of policy and legislation. In this
context, it is of the greatest importance to develop better integration
policies to allow the full inclusion in our societies of those who
will certainly stay. Undoubtedly, integration has a cost but this
cost is amply compensated by its benefits for the whole society,
as confirmed by our discussions under the third theme. We should
keep in mind that failure to integrate implies greater costs in
the long-term.

In addition, national parliaments should be more involved
in the decision-making process in the area of migration and asylum.
Thanks to their pluralist and representative composition, they can
provide greater legitimacy to decisions, and guarantee that responses
are better tuned to citizens’ wishes. The potential of national
parliaments to bridge the gap between European decision-making and
citizens should also be further explored.

At the same time, as politicians, we have the responsibility
not to stir or capitalise on public fear and fall into the trap
of populism. We must resist the temptation to present our citizens
with a false choice between security on the one hand and dignity
and liberty on the other. Security must be taken seriously, and
so must human rights.

National parliaments should make greater use of their oversight
role, questioning their governments on the poor or delayed implementation
of decisions taken at European level to tackle the crisis, as well
as supervising the implementation of agreements and other undertakings.

A comprehensive and effective migration and asylum policy
requires a strong external dimension. This includes close co-operation
with non-European countries of origin and transit and a targeted
development aid policy. It also requires a stronger stance on conflict
resolution and the restoration of peace in war-afflicted areas because,
as it was said, “there is a deficit of
peace”. These measures would all help in reducing migrant
and refugee movements.

Theme 2 – National parliaments and the Council of Europe:
together promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law gave
participants the opportunity to illustrate the efforts that have
been carried out by national parliaments to comply with binding
and non-binding Council of Europe texts and decisions, and to co-operate with
many of its bodies, including the Parliamentary Assembly.

Several Presidents praised the Council of Europe as a reference
in the area of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, having
given a major contribution to the consolidation of democratic standards
in its member States. To underline the central importance of the
European Convention on Human Rights, one President called it ‘an achievement of human civilisation’,
a definition which I absolutely support.

Several speakers mentioned the challenging context in which
European democracies operate: the threat of terrorism, economic
hardship, increasing inequalities, youth unemployment, growing populism
to the left and rights of the political spectrum; others focused
on the broader geopolitical environment, in which Europe’s relevance
is shrinking.

Two quotes come to my mind in this regard. The first: “It
is in these difficult times that we need leadership and vision.
Insularity could jeopardise what has been achieved so far in the
area of democracy, human rights and the rule of law”, and the second:
“We should not choose between our values and our prosperity. On
the contrary, our prosperity depends on our values”.

Some speakers also referred to the need to bring democratic
institutions closer to citizens, for instance by ensuring greater
transparency and inclusiveness in the deliberative process, including
through online consultations. This is another area in which the
Council of Europe could be of assistance, thanks to its work on e-democracy,
and this could be further explored by the Assembly.

A recurrent issue was how to ensure that national parliaments
are more receptive to early warnings launched by the Parliamentary
Assembly and take greater heed of its resolutions. In my opinion
there is room for improving the interaction and coordination between
national parliaments and the Parliamentary Assembly and I attach
great importance to the pro-active liaison role to be played by
the members of national delegations.

At the same time, the Assembly can further improve its knowledge
of the interests and needs of national parliaments, for instance
by reinforcing tailor-made and demand-driven activities for national
parliaments and promoting direct exchanges between Assembly committees
and their national counterparts.

On several occasions, during this Conference, we have been
reminded of the reasons why we should work together and the values
that are our common heritage. You may be aware, dear colleagues,
that the Parliamentary Assembly has launched a proposal for the
Council of Europe to hold a Fourth Summit of Heads of State and
Government of Council of Europe member States. I invite you to support
this initiative, which could give a fresh impetus to our co-operation
in the years to come.

Dear colleagues, this morning our Conference discussed the
theme Mobilisation of parliaments against hate, for inclusive and
non-racist societies.

There was a clear consensus that hatred threatens our democratic
systems by undermining social cohesion. Societies are more cohesive
when diversity is respected and valued as a richness. They are also,
as a result, more resilient to threats, including radicalisation
leading to terrorism.

Concerns were expressed about the risk of stigmatisation of
some groups, especially in the current context of the fight against
terrorism. This risk is amplified by a populist rhetoric, on the
right and the left, as well as by the impact of the Internet, which
has led to the coarsening of public discourse. As it was said, ‘racism and incitement to violence are not
an opinion. They cannot benefit from the right to freedom of expression’.

The speakers suggested several ways in which national parliaments
could mobilise against hate:

The first and foremost manner is by passing legislation to
criminalise hate speech and by convicting the perpetrators of hate
crimes. Punishment is not by itself the solution but a step forward.

It was clear from our discussions that great emphasis should
be placed on PREVENTION. In this context, many speakers highlighted
the centrality of education, the importance of education for democratic
citizenship – a major activity of the Council of Europe –, and the
role played by sports and cultural associations.

All those who took the floor mentioned the PERSONAL MOBILISATION
of parliamentarians as a key component of the fight against hatred,
racism and intolerance. As prominent public figures, members of parliament
should set an example, be aware of the language they use in political
debate and take a clear public stand against hate. They should also
support alternative human rights narratives to hate speech. In this
regard, I thank those of you who took an interest in the hashtag
initiative NoHateNoFear, the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance and
the No Hate Speech Movement. I invite you to follow up on these
once you go back to your countries.

Mr Thommessen, I found your speech about “role models” particularly
inspiring. As political figures, WE can influence other individuals,
especially the youth, to have trust in democracy and to become tomorrow’s
leaders. Whom we choose to meet, what areas of our cities we choose
to visit and whom we choose to publicly support, will be the visible
sign of how much we believe in equality and inclusion. We should
bear this in mind in our work.

Colleagues, this Conference has given us many ideas for our
future homework. The main difficulty lies with the fact that the
matters we discussed in these two days need to be addressed simultaneously
and without any further delay.

You can count on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe to stand by your side in this endeavour.